The commitment to sustainability of the University of Udine is tangible and especially focused on greening our campuses as a means to support sustainability in the communities in which we reside. In particular, our projects between 2012 and 2015 are based on a decade of cooperation with local authorities (municipalities and county), utilities and service providers in the fields of energy management, mobility management, waste management and residential services.

Implementation methodologies

As to energy management, several actions have already been undertaken thanks to projects of our researchers in cooperation with local and international firms: for instance, photovoltaic systems are installed on our roofs since 2009, as well as demonstration projects of innovative solar installations (converters, mirrors, solar trackers).The early involvement of the University in municipal energy planning and joint research and consultancy projects with the Municipality of Udine and the Regional Health System brought about a cogeneration and district heating concept for the City and University hospital, the scientific campus, several large buildings in the area and all residential buildings in the area. This concept is now been put into practice: the system is being built and is expected to come on line in 2013.As to mobility and waste management, a working table involving local service providers and communities started at the end of 2011 with the aim of improving services for our students. The aims of the joint project entitled Zero impact Uniud for a sustainable University include optimizing public transport schedules, organizing bike sharing points at our campuses and enhancing selective waste collection.Moreover, the university is committed to supporting workshops, conferences and dissemination actions in the field of sustainable development. In particular, we:- participate to the annual Week of Education to Sustainable Development managed by the Italian Committee of the UNESCO for the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development, thereby organizing events for our students, faculty and staff and the whole local community;- contribute to EOS, the Exposition of Sustainability, a biennial exhibition organized by the Trade Fair Organization of Udine and Gorizia;- are promoters of the Third International Conference on Degrowth, Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity which will take place in Venice in 2012.Finally, to transmit sustainability concepts and values to our students we promote courses and curricula in several areas, such as environmental and industrial engineering, environmental sciences and agricultural engineering, ecological economics, ethics and economics, sustainable production technologies and many others.